The Fool's Folly
by Pegashush
Summary: Yu Narukami has just transferred, once again, to a new school. Same routine, different town, this time in a small country village known as Inaba. His attempt to stay distant from everyone fails when he makes a fatal mistake and "befriends" a green-coated carnivore. They say that any man can make a mistake, but only a fool repeats it...
1. Quod Respuitur, Nullum Subest Auxilium

_First day of school. _Chie thought, resting her head on her left hand, her right idly tapping out a dull beat on the desk in front of her, the noise being lost in the noise of the classroom around her. She glanced to her side, watching the rain pattering on the window.

_It looks about as bad as I feel right now. _She thought with a glum sigh, turning back towards the front of the room. It always felt like an ending when school started up again after a long break. Endings always depressed Chie- if only just a little bit.

The class's teacher hadn't yet arrived and, as usual, most of the classmates were up and socializing. Normally, Chie would be doing the same, but oddly enough the area around her was quiet. Yukiko was busy getting her books and supplies in order, making sure she was absolutely prepared for the day, which explained why she wasn't talking to Chie. It made sense that Yukiko would be ignoring her.

On the other hand, Yosuke was also being quiet. He was usually quite talkative, but he had resigned himself to keeping his head face down on the desk. As annoying as he was usually, Chie would've preferred his ramblings to the boring, depressing silence she faced right now. It almost made Yosuke's lewd comments seem endearing… well, _almost_, at least.

_Oh well. I can always talk to them later, I guess. _Chie thought, looking back down at her desk. She idly traced an old drawing on the wooden surface with her index finger, picturing climactic clashes of ancient fighting styles.

_Klak._ The sound of the door opening made her pause and look up. Their teacher had finally arrived, a scrawny, bucktoothed man who looked as though the vein on his forehead was about to burst out of his skull.

_Great. King Moron. _She let out a muffled groan, the horror stories of her uptight teacher resurfaced in her mind. Her displeasure was cut off, however, when she noticed that a student had followed Morooka, the "King Moron," into the classroom.

_Grey hair? _Chie wondered, staring at the student's head, his eyes partially covered by his silvery bangs. An impassive, neutral expression was on his face, his lips drawn in a thin line as he gazed out a spot on the back wall from behind his bangs.

"Alright! Listen up!" The scrawny teacher yelled, dropping a small briefcase onto the desk with enough force to get the attention of everyone in the room. "Welcome to Class 2-2. I'll be the homeroom teacher of you worthless brats for this year."

He paused, scanning the crowd of students. His scowl deepened, and he turned to the side, gesturing towards the student that had followed him into the room.

"Now, this sad sack of garbage is our new transfer student from the city." Morooka continued, his nose wrinkling in disgust. "And don't get any ideas, ladies! This guy's as much of a loser here as he was back in the city, so don't even think about flirting with him!"

The student's calm posture stiffened slightly, and his mouth curled downward into a frown for just a moment, his eyes darting to the side Morooka was standing on. He opened his mouth to respond to the teacher's comment, but decided against it at the last moment. His gaze returned to the same spot on the wall.

"My name is Yu Narukami." He recited smoothly, giving a slight bow as he continued, "It's nice to meet you all."

It was almost too smooth, Chie wondered. Most transfer students were nervous or anxious on their first day, but Narukami had seemed to not care, like he had done it all before.

As their unattractive teacher began again with a new rant, Chie's brow furrowed, trying to decipher something about the new student from his unflinching stare.

_Just who is this guy? _She thought, making a quick glance at the empty seat next to her. A smirk grew on her face as she looked back to the front of the room.

_Maybe I can find out…_

* * *

><p><em>Well, this entire plan is a bust. <em>Chie thought, her eyes attempting to burn a hole in the back of the transfer student's head from her position behind him.

The first part of her plan was a success, but it went downhill from there. Morooka gladly let Yu sit next to her in class, but when she tried to talk to him afterwards, he acted like he didn't remember who she was. It was ridiculous! She sat next to him all day! How could he forget?!

Both her and Yukiko offered to give the student a tour of Inaba anyway, as a way to welcome to the town. Of course, Chie just wanted an excuse to learn about the mysterious new student. However, he was quickly becoming the irritating new student.

The entire time on their way through the town, Chie bombarded him with questions, while Yukiko provided support strikes at key junctures. But every one of their attacks was deflected with minimal effort. He never elaborated, answering "yes" or "no" when he could, and shrugging when he could not.

"So, you're from the city?"

"Yep."

"Ooh, do you miss it at all?"

"Not really."

"What do you think of Inaba so far?"

He shrugged again, still watching the road in front of them, and Chie couldn't help but grit her teeth in irritation. It didn't help that Yukiko was giggling at sparse intervals every time Narukami deflected another of Chie's probing questions.

_Fine, if she doesn't want to help me, _Chie thought, a mischievous smile growing on her face, _I think I'll turn the tables on the both of them._

"Heh, well, if you don't have an opinion on Inaba yet, why don't you give us your opinion on something you've had the chance to experience for a bit?" Chie began, putting on a small boost of speed to catch up to Yu.

The transfer student turned his head in Chie's direction, his eyebrow raised in an expression of perplexion.

"Oh no, Chie…" Yukiko said, matching pace alongside her friend, "Don't start this again…"

"So tell me, "Mr." Narukami," Chie continued, her tone mocking Morooka's, "You think Yukiko's cute, don't you?"

"Ugh, Chie…" Yukiko replied, covering her reddening face with a hand.

Yu, however, had no real reaction. His expression retained its usual aloofness as he glanced at Yukiko. Looking back at Chie, he frowned.

"I don't see why you're even asking me this." He answered, his brows creasing slightly, "I'm leaving in a year."

The tomboy's expression morphed into one of confusion at his words. Noticing this, Yu shrugged slightly, a strange look in his eyes.

"Getting to know me won't do you any good once I'm gone," the grey-haired boy explained, his expression neutral, "So what does it matter? Why even bother?"

Chie blinked, taken aback by the transfer student's words. _That's not the answer I was expecting…_

Taking advantage of her moment of silence, Yu had sped up his walking speed once more, putting himself ahead of the two friends.

There was a pause as Chie stared after him, her eyes following the transfer student's retreating form. She chewed on the inside of her lip as she turned his words over in her head.

Yukiko coughed, the noise sounding awkward in the silence.

"That was… weird." Yukiko said, the redness in her face retreating.

_You can say that again, _Chie thought, picturing his expression in her head, burning his undecipherable stare into her memory as she watched the boy walk at a steady pace ahead of them.

Her brow furrowed and her trademark brash determination began to rear its head.

_I'll show you how wrong you are, Narukami. _Chie thought, a small smirk on her face.


	2. Arcem Ex Cloacâ Facĕre

_You're an idiot, Narukami, _Yu thought, his head throbbing with pain, _You just couldn't keep your mouth shut today, huh?_

His room was bathed in darkness, the cloudy sky blocking out any moonlight from entering the window. His futon was just as uncomfortable as he remembered it being the previous night, but that was mainly due to the fact that he still hadn't finished unpacking.

_You slipped up,_ he berated himself, frowning as the throbbing dulled, _Let them talk, let them get bored, and be on your merry way. That is the plan. The plan you didn't follow._

He should have refused them, all things considered. It was standard first-day-of-school events, some student gets up the courage to talk to the "new kid," gets entertained by tales of life outside of the ass end of nowhere, then gets bored of it and never speaks to new student ever again.

Cynical, yes, but effective, all things considered. Leaving any potential "friends" with nothing to go off of meant that nobody grew close, making it all the easier when time came to leave again, as it inevitably did.

_And what did you do, Narukami? _Yu asked, lightly hitting his forehead with a fist, _You spoke up, dangled a nice piece of cynicism in front of them, and now they'll try even harder to be friends with you since they pity you._

He wasn't entirely certain, however, and there was still the possibility of the Mario Sisters leaving him alone because of his slight outburst. Even he had to admit, that was a little cruel of him to say, but with luck they'd take it as him being callous. Callous was better than friendly, at least.

_I should feel lucky I got off easier than that kid she ran into after class, _he mused, recalling the vicious kick she had delivered to the student's more… _sensitive_ parts, _Although, that is still a possibility for tomorrow…_

The throbbing in his head spiked once more, eliciting a small groan from his lips. The throbbing had started soon after dinner, becoming a constant noise in his skull after an hour had passed.

_I must be coming down with something, _his mind suggested through the pain, the spike causing him to grit his teeth, _I felt the same yesterday. Maybe I caught something on the train ride over._

He laid there for a moment, trying to ride out the waves of pain until his mind was clear once more. After a few minutes, it was clear that he wasn't going to be able to think of a plan of action tonight, the noise in his skull increasing in intensity as the throbbing ate away at his mental functions.

_Maybe I'll just sleep. _Yu thought, _I'll just try to avoid them tomorrow and hope for the best._

_With luck, they'll forget I existed and everything can go back to normal._

* * *

><p>The electronics section of the Junes department store was, as usual, quiet. Not many people in Inaba came to purchase televisions or stereos, after all. It was the one part of the store that was almost always dead silent, and that it was on that fateful Thursday following Yu's arrival in Inaba.<p>

The silence was broken in an instant, however, as a low humming began echoing through the empty area.

Along the wall of dead, black televisions, one spontaneously lit, glowing dimly.

The intensity of both the light and the sound began to grow, almost in tandem, as the surface of the television rippled and buckled.

A head, covered in a mop of messy ginger hair cleared the surface of the television, flailing arms and torso following as a young man collapsed in a heap, his landing jostling free his pair of orange headphones.

Looking back at his passageway, he registered a green coat and brown hair before its owner crashed landed on top of him, causing him to yelp.

The pair got to their legs shakingly as a final head poked its way through, grey hair and grey eyes widened in shock. He stumbled forward, landing on his hands and knees in front of the two previous travellers.

"Just- just what in the hell was-?!" The ginger one stammered, slightly out of breath, "We were… we were _in the TV!_"

_What the hell is right, _Yu thought, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

"I am so glad we made it out of there in one piece…" Chie added, leaning forward with her hands on her knees, "Those things almost killed us!"

"That was crazy." Yosuke continued, running his hands through his messy, orange hair, "We went _inside of the TV-!_"

"Calm down." Yu commanded, his tone firm, "We survived. That's what's important."

"Yeah, barely…" Their green companion noted, a grim look on her face, "Without that freaky light show of yours, Yu…"

"What even was that?" Yosuke asked, giving Yu a curious look, "That thing you summoned… that was a god, wasn't it?"

"I'm… not sure." Yu answered him, his stony exterior cracking, albeit slightly, as sweat rolled down his neck.

"Well, what are we supposed to do now?" Chie added, looking over her shoulder, paranoia evident in her expression, "If we don't know anything about this… _thing_ of yours or that world…"

_How in the hell am I supposed to know? _The silver haired student wondered, panic swelling within him, _I can't even begin to understand what's going on._

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, Yosuke and Chie staring at him with rapt attention.

"We need to stay calm and just go home." Yu stated, his voice wavering slightly, "If we just forget this all happened, we can go back to our normal lives and this will never affect us again."

"Yeah. Yeah, _okay_." Yosuke quipped, swallowing hard, his voice rising to a yell, "How in the _hell_ are we supposed to forget a _near death experience?!_"

"By ignoring it, Yosuke." Yu replied, his brow creasing as the ghost of a frown settled upon his face, "If we focus on this, it will consume us."

Yosuke opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. He looked back at his green-coated friend as she looked at him with a mix of concern and pity.

"Let's just go home Yosuke." Chie reasoned, sounding tired, "We can talk about this tomorrow, arguing right now isn't going to do any good…"

He looked down, before glancing back up at the exchange student, a bitter look in his eyes.

"Fine. But tomorrow, we're gonna sit down, and you're gonna explain this all to me."

"I would if I could explain it, Yosuke."

The orange haired teen shook his head, scoffing at the exchange student's words. Without another word, he turned and left, pulling on his headphones as he went. Chie could only stare after him as he disappeared from sight.

She turned back towards Yu, staring at him with an odd sort of expression. To Yu, it seemed to be piercing straight through him, sending a feeling of dread and uneasiness coursing through him. Her expression shifted suddenly, turning stern.

"What is up with you?" She demanded, gesturing in the direction Yosuke went, "He's freaking out and you tell him to just forget about it?"

"...I-It's the sensible thing to do." Yu stammered slightly, taking a step back unconsciously, "If he keeps dwelling on it, he'll just make it worse…"

"Ugh, he's going to do that anyway!" She continued, covering her eyes with a hand, "It would've been better if you were just nice to him."

Yu looked down, his frown returning to his face as he stared at his shoes. He sighed as he turned away from his companion, the noise sad and hollow in the uneasy silence.

"You don't have to be a jerk, y'know."

He turned back, glancing up at her eyes for a moment, her irises burning with a fire unlike anything he had seen before. The intensity of her frowning gaze caused him to shrink back, looking down once more.

"It's just easier this way." He replied, his voice quiet.

Without waiting for a response, without even looking up to see her reaction, he turned away and walked out of sight.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

_Alright, it's tomorrow, time for the actual author's note._

_In today's episode, we introduce Yosuke (sort of) and also show off the fact that this story will be from different characters' points of view. Yu feels funny, we see the aftermath of the TV World, and drama starts to brew between the soon-to-be Investigation Team._

_Anyways, I wanted to focus less on the dungeon exploits and more on the characters, which is why I time-skipped to them exiting the TV World. That section has been covered up, down, left, right, sideways, and upside-down by the members of the Persona fandom, and it's pointless for me to write it in with my style just to have it there. Cleaner to just skip it. As a side note, the first scene was originally going to be the end of the first chapter, but I moved it in order to preserve the flow. I'll just stick to one viewpoint a chapter from now on, I think._

_Now for some bad news, I'm gonna get really busy during these next two weeks, so do not expect an update until at least February. Maybe I can squeeze in something right before the end of January, but no promises. College prep and midterms are not good when combined._

_** Sentinel07** - Glad to see you like it so far. Just don't overexert yourself, okay? You'll get tired with how much you're typing._

_** Dicsy Peter** - It's a bit more complicated than just cold, I think. It's hard to tell from just two chapters, but Yu is more troubled than cold, he just seems that way through Chie's eyes at this point. Will he stay that way? Probably not._

**_ Profesaaaa_**_ - That's the plan at this point. Gonna keep pumping 'em out as soon as I can, don't worry._


	3. Obscuris Vera Involvens

_Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit-_

The string of curses racing through Chie's head was temporarily interrupted as she rounded the corner of the path along the Samegawa. Catching the mud with the soles of her shoes, Chie slid momentarily, before catching herself with a hand, pushing off the ground with it to keep her balance.

Her next few steps were shaky, but she regained her footing soon enough and was racing down the muddy road at her previous speed, raindrops racing by her as the sky continued its downpour.

_Damn it. The weather report said the rain would stop by morning… does this look like it stopped? _Chie mentally complained, holding her hands over her head in a feeble attempt to keep dry.

She mentally kicked herself again for breaking her only umbrella a few days previously, the cheap metal of the umbrella's neck having bent into an L after she swung it in an attempt to hit Yosuke.

_I'm going to be drying off for the rest of the day now, _Chie noted gloomily, her face contorting into a grimace as she glanced into the dark sky, _and it's all Yosuke's fault. Again._

She lowered her gaze back to the ground, only to note a silhouetted figure walking ahead of her, an umbrella suspended above its head.

Her soles pounded into the pavement, splashing water up onto her bare legs as she sped up, hoping to catch the mysterious walker, the thought of a relief from the downpour racing through her head.

However, Chie couldn't help but grin as she drew closer, the silhouette fading into a recognizable, silver-haired student.

"_**Narukami!**_" The green-coated girl yelled, putting her hands to her mouth to amplify the sound. Hearing his name, Yu turned, looking over his shoulder just as Chie skidded into place next to him.

"Satonaka?" The student asked, confusion evident on his face as she elbowed him for more room under his umbrella, "I take it you don't have an umbrella?"

"Not anymore, at least," she sighed, glancing up at him, "Mind if I share yours until we get to school?"

And then he did it again.

Just like he had been doing every so often, Chie watched his face as it repeated a familiar pattern, his eyes locked with hers. His brow furrowed, his lips curled into a slight frown, and his mouth opened as though he was about to shoot her down. And then, in an instant, he shut his mouth, closed his eyes, and turned his head back towards the road.

"Sure. I can't just leave you out in the rain." He replied, his tone taking on that cool edge Chie had grown to become fascinated with.

Her fascination with Narukami was frustrating, as she seemed to be the only one who noticed his behavior. She watched him carefully as he stared straight ahead, his face set into the most neutral, bland expression she had ever seen, dark bags collecting under his half-lidded eyes.

Chie knew that she wasn't imagining things with Yu. Not at all. He might not have been the most expressive person out there, but she was able to see the cracks, slight emotions bleeding through.

It was frustrating, to say the least. She wanted to get to know Narukami, she wanted to be his friend, but she wouldn't be able to do that unless he opened up to her, which he deftly avoided with his verbal skills. Hence, the frustration.

"Alright, thanks." Chie responded, tearing her eyes away from him to look back at the road in front of them.

They walked in silence for a bit, the only noise heard being the pattering of the rain on their umbrella and the soft splashes from the water underfoot.

_You know, this is actually pretty calming… _Chie thought, a slight smile on her face. _Narukami's actually pretty nice to be around… when he's not being infuriating, that is._

Her train of thought was broken, however, when Yu yawned. She turned to look at him, his free hand coming up to try and cover up the sound.

"...I didn't get much sleep last night." Yu explained, noticing his green-coated companion's questioning stare.

"Yeah, I can tell," Chie replied, taking note of the bags under his eyes, "You look terrible. When did you go to bed?"

"After midnight," He remarked dryly, giving her a rather unamused look, "Since someone just had to demand that I tried out some crazy rumor."

"Oh, I guess I kinda did do that, huh?" She asked, chuckling, a guilty look on her face.

"Yeah. It was such a great idea, thanks for that." He snarked, rolling his eyes.

They were in sight of the school now, the large, imposing gates standing tall and resolute in the face of the storm. Chie turned back away from him for a moment, staring ahead at the school through the haze of the rain.

"Hey, Satonaka…" Yu began, breaking her train of thought for the second time in a row.

"Did anything… weird, I guess," He began, having noticed her looking at him expectantly, "Happen to you last night? When you watched the Midnight Channel, I mean."

"Not… really?" She responded, a concerned and confused look on her face, "Why, did something happen to you?"

"No, I was just… I was wondering. That's all." He replied, trying to dismiss her concern.

She continued staring at him, watching as his uncertain expression, unconvinced by his statement. There was something else in his eyes, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I'm fine. _Really_." He continued, shuffling awkwardly under her gaze. He swallowed, turning back to the school.

Chie wasn't convinced, however. This was, after all, the most emotion he had shown in all the time she had known him, and it was, frankly, freaking her out. They walked the rest of the way in silence, the grey-haired student refusing to look at Chie the entire time.

It wasn't until much later that day when she realized what she had seen in his eyes when he asked about the Midnight Channel. It was _fear_.

_Narukami was afraid. _She realized, looking up from her doodle-filled notebook, eyes widening.

_...But of what?_

* * *

><p>It hurt to think. It hurt to move. But she had to.<p>

It was life or death. Who would have thought that this was where they'd end up?

It was all a joke, at first at least. Yu had told her and Yosuke about something strange that had happened to him. The silver-haired student had described how he had thought his hand had passed into his television screen last night during the Midnight Channel and, of course, Chie and Yosuke didn't believe him.

To his credit, Yu stayed calm, even when Yosuke dragged him to Junes to "test" the new student's theory.

And then it all went wrong when they turned and saw Narukami elbow deep into the fluxuating image of a flatscreen television.

Now they were all running for their lives from some godforsaken horrors, running down a twisted form of Inaba, the normally vibrant colors of the rural town washed out to blurs of red, brown, and grey.

She ran at the head of the pack, making split second decisions through the narrow, yet familiar twists and turns of Inaba's alleyways. At first, she had tried figuring out a path that might lead them to some form of safety, be it her house or Yosuke's, or even the school, but the pounding migraine that hammered in her mind made it hard to think, hard to remember. On top of that, the pervasive, yellow fog that smothered the town made it hard to make out anything more than 10 feet in front of her, leaving her blind until she nearly ran into something.

So she quickly gave up that idea, simply letting her feet take her somewhere, anywhere away from those… those… she didn't even know what to call them. They had started out as black gelatinous creatures, face blank like a mask, hands with the color and form of ink reaching out towards them… but that didn't last long.

She watched in horror as they rose off the _fucking_ ground like marionettes on strings, watched as the hands and mask imploded, sinking in on itself until there was nothing but a floating ball, striped with purple and black.

And then she ran, once she saw it turn, revealing its gaping maw, a large, almost human mouth that dripped with saliva as it lunged for a bite of whatever it could get a hold of- the nearest being herself, Yosuke, a bear of some sort, and Yu, the mysterious student who had got them into this mess in the first place.

She didn't know where that damn bear had gone after she had took off, he had disappeared just as mysteriously as he came the first time around, handing Yu a pair of glasses before they turned to see those hideous creatures crawling their way.

She scrambled around to the right, making a split-second decision as she came to a T-shape in her path, the alleyway opening up to somewhere she actually knew by name for once- Tsuki Street, one of Inaba's few major roads.

And as luck would have it, the street led to somewhere they actually might be able to survive at.

"Chie… Chie," Yosuke gasped from behind her, short of breath, "Keep heading down this road… we'll get to Junes."

Normally, Chie would've thanked Yosuke for pointing out the obvious, but she was so damn tired from all this running and near delirious from her migraine that she could barely formulate a response.

_P… pull it together, Chie… you've run further than this before. Just gotta make it to..._

She skidded to a stop in the Junes parking lot, mouth dropping open, eyes going wide as she panted, trying to catch her breath.

"Oh god." She gasped, watching as several of the shadow-y monsters seeped through the cracks in the store's windows, out from under the parked cars, and out from the manholes on the street.

Yosuke and Yu apparently hadn't seen her stop yet, as Yosuke barrelled into her from behind at that moment, knocking them both onto the ground, while Yu tripped over their small dogpile, keeping his balance for a moment before falling to his hands and knees in front of them.

Chie looked around, paralyzed with fear, as she counted the number of monsters that had arisen to hunt them down. One, two, three, four, five… they just kept coming, and she couldn't keep track of how many.

She turned back to see Yu scrambling to his feet in front of them, his head whipping around, eyes gripped in a terror unlike she had seen in someone's eyes before. It was like his worst nightmares came true.

"Oh gods, we're going to die." Yosuke breathed in her ear, too paralyzed to stand up like Yu had.

And he was right. They all knew it.

She couldn't bear to watch as three of those creatures bared down on Yu, shutting her eyes right as they lunged for him, only hearing Yosuke scream the silver-haired student's name in the darkness behind her eyes.

There was only silence after that. No scream of horror or agony from Yu. No wail of femininity from Yosuke.

She opened her eyes slowly, hoping to avoid seeing Yu's broken, chewed up corpse in full. Her eyes snapped open when she saw him still standing tall as ever, bathed in an eerie blue light, eyes obscured by the glint of the light off of his newly gained glasses.

His lips moved ever so slightly, as his eyes remained glued to what appeared to be a card floating above his hand. His face looked on in what appeared to be almost holy reverence before he jerked, a sick and twisted smirk growing on his face as he closed his hand into a fist around the card.

The world began to rumble as Yu's shadow lifted itself from the ground, like an unconscious body being pulled to its feet by a nearby bystander. The pure darkness of the shadow faded away to a jet black longcoat draped over the shoulders of a metal-masked man, who snapped his head forward when he finally stood on his feet, hunched over the trio, a giant protecting mere ants.

Angry yellow eyes surveyed the darkened parking lot, eying up the floating monsters that had chased them previously. With a flick of its wrist, a shadowy blade formed in its hands as Yu lifted a shaky hand of his own, his finger shaking as he pointed it towards the monsters surrounding them.

The giant lunged at an almost inhuman speed, bisecting the first of these creatures down the middle before turning and sending a jolt of electricity racing down its arm to arc into the next monster, disintegrating it before it could react. The third came up behind the giant, latching onto its shoulder with its sharp teeth, biting down hard as it took advantage of the giant's distraction.

Yu cried out with pain, reaching up to grab his shoulder like he had been the one to get attacked. With a feral yell from its silver-haired master, the giant ripped the creature off its shoulder, tossing it into the air. Leaping into the sky after it, the massive blade gripped in both hands, the giant swung in a wide arc, slashing straight through the creature, leaving its blade facing back towards the ground.

It plummeted straight down, spearing another creature along the way, sending car parts flying as it went straight through one of the parked cars, crushing it underneath the combined weight of the blade, its victim, and its wielder.

It had a resounding effect on the other monsters, which seemed to almost hesitate as the giant landed and wrenched its naginata from the ground, disintegrating the creature it had impaled much like the blade's other victims.

The remaining creatures paused momentarily, now wary of the new threat's power. The remaining few surrounded their foe, settling around it in even intervals. Almost simultaneously, they struck, racing towards the giant in an attempt to overwhelm it.

Holding its weapon in a reverse grip, the giant spun, turning the simple blade into a cyclone of destruction, sending the monsters flying through the parking lot, crashing into cars, light poles, even the nearby buildings before they followed their fallen brethren and faded into nothing but an inky mist.

The giant faded out of existence as Yu hunched forward, catching himself on his knees as he gasped for breath, the impressive display of excessive force leaving him exhausted.

Chie's eyes fell back upon the student, her mouth hanging open in shock as her companion turned back towards her, looking reinvigorated despite his exhausted demeanor.

"I think… I think we're safe now." He panted, gasping for air, "We should probably start heading back… before more come."

Yu stood back up to his full height, stretching out his back as he did so as Yosuke finally rolled off of her and stood up himself.

"Here, Chie," Yu began, reaching out a hand to help her up, "We need to get moving. Take my hand."

She looked from his hand to his face, taking in his new, looser manner. It was quite weird, to be honest, his school uniform unbuttoned, his face light and carefree, almost like the adrenaline had revitalized him or something.

_Damn, _Chie admitted, her face heating up slightly as she took his hand, letting the silver-haired student pull her to her feet, _he looks a lot... different now._

_...I kinda like it._

* * *

><p>"Narukami! Narukaaaami!" Chie yelled, running after the grey-haired student, weaving between the rows of cars to reach him before he left the Junes parking lot.<p>

Why am I even doing this? She asked herself, panting as she chased after the student, his grey head bobbing in and out of view behind the parked cars ahead of her. It's obvious he doesn't want to be friends.

He had made that clear the way he had tersely cut Yosuke off, his voice becoming hard and cold when it came to the whole television situation, like he was trying to end all conversation about it. Like he just wanted to sweep the whole incident under the rug and go on with his life like normal.

And then when Yosuke had left, she had called him out for it.

She recalled his defeated posture and expression when he left afterwards, just turning and leaving without another word. Well, besides another one of his cryptic, cynical statements, like he did the day she met him.

Damn it, she thought, her shoulders sagging slightly, He needs a friend right now. That's why I'm doing it.

"Narukami!" She yelled again, turning the corner of the row he was walking along, "Wait up!"

The grey-haired student stopped upon hearing his name, but didn't turn or say a word. Chie slowed down, coming to a stop a couple feet behind him.

"Hey," she began, slightly out of breath, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home," he stated simply, not moving, "I need to get back before my uncle starts to worry."

"Oh. Yeah, that's…" Chie replied, stumbling over her words, "That's actually pretty reasonable."

They stood there for a bit in silence, a slight breeze blowing through the lot. Chie rubbed her hands together subconsciously, either as a nervous habit or from the cold night itself.

"Well, uh," Yu began, turning back slightly to look at Chie, "I need to get back. If you're not going to say anything else…"

"No!" She yelled, making Yu jump slightly, "No. I mean…"

She took a breath, closing her eyes.

"I just wanted to say," Chie began, looking into Yu's eyes, filled with confusion and a slight trace of his previous fear, "I'm sorry for earlier. And that I'm here for you, if you ever need a friend."

She brought her hand up in front of her, fingers splayed out for a handshake, a slight smile on her face. He looked down at it, his eyes flicking back up to meet hers. Neither of them moved for a moment or two.

"Come on, don't leave me hanging." Chie chuckled, the noise sounding slightly forced and awkward, "You're making me feel worse for yelling at you earlier."

He sighed, the same sad, wistful look appearing in his eyes like before.

"I'm sorry, Chie." He began, turning away all of a sudden to continue his walk from before, "But I don't need a friend right now."

Her hand limply dropped to her side as she watched him walk away, a strange feeling of regret and sadness forming in her gut.

She watched his retreating form for a few moments longer, her gaze glued to the back of his head, before turning and walking away just as abruptly as he did, a frown on her face the whole way home.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

_He's back again, the young pup on the block, takin' every problem one by one._

_Hey everyone, long time no see. Been nearly... 2 months since the last installment?_

_Yeah, I promised I'd get a chapter out during February in my edited author's note (which I conveniently forgot to upload until now whoops) and I missed that mark. By a bit. But hey, I think doubling the size of the story more than makes up for it, y'know?_

_This chapter switches back to Chie's point of view, establishing their alternating viewpoints, and focuses on events that occurred in-between scenes in Chapter 2. I tried to make that clear, but what's clear to me might not be so to the readers, so let me know how I did. I will admit that I did cut this chapter down slightly, removing what was going to be an entire fourth scene, but I got something interesting planned for it in Chapter 4, so be on the look out for that, which will definitely come out quicker._

_In the meantime, if you guys are starved for Chie/Yu fics, why not write your own? Or, you could visit the community I set up late January, "The Thunder Chariot," focused exclusively on archiving shipping fics for our lovable protagonists._

**_Profesaaaa_**_ - That was kind of the goal with the last chapter. Yu is a cynical, depressive fool at the beginning, and I wanted to show that he's not quite a cold jerk like he seems like in Chapter 1. Definitely going to keep going, though.  
><em>

**_Originaljuan92_** _- Glad to hear you like it, man. I'm eager to please and to add more content to Chie/Yu. Surprising lack of it considering how it's decently popular.  
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